The Democrats in the United States Senate appear to have not named anyone to lead the campaign committee charged with keeping — and expanding — the party’s majority in the upper chamber as members start to announce retirement and a 2024 map favoring Republicans looms.
The 118 Congress opened on Tuesday with no official announcement on who will be the chair of the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the 2024 Senate cycle favoring Republicans, even as other leadership positions have already been filled for the party.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), the campaign chief during the 2022 campaign cycle, reportedly has already made it known to others that he does not want to remain in the position, despite Democrats urging him to stay in the position after a successful cycle. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to select the next chair, according to Fox News, but it remains unclear when he will make an announcement.
Additionally, on Thursday, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), a member of Senate Democrat leadership, became the first Democrat senator to announce her decision to not seek reelection in 2024 and will retire at the end of her current term in January 2025. Stabenow said she wants to “pass the torch” to the new generation of leaders in the Senate.
The senator’s announcement leaves Michigan in play during the 2024 election cycle after only winning reelection in 2018 against now-incoming Congressman John James (R-MI) with a little over 52 percent of the vote. In addition, the 2024 cycle also includes a presidential election, where President Joe Biden only won Michigan with roughly 50.5 percent in the 2020 presidential election. Not having an incumbent Democrat senator in Michigan could end up helping the Republicans’ chances across the state, while a GOP candidate for Senate and president would be at the top of the ticket.
So, the DSCC will have to try to keep, if not expand, the 51-seat majority. That includes potentially spending millions on protecting Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who recently changed her party to become an independent after the last election cycle but has remained a valuable incumbent for the left, in addition to some Democrat senators running in states that have turned redder over the years and open seats from retiring members.
In 2024, 23 of the 33 Senate seats up for reelection are currently held by Democrats or left-leaning independents. Former President Donald Trump won six of the states by double digits in at least one of his presidential elections.
The New York Times previously acknowledged that some of the most challenging seats for the Democrats to keep will be Sen. Jon Tester’s (D) Montana seat, Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D) Ohio seat, and Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D) West Virginia seat. Trump won those states by 16, 8, and 29 percent in 2020.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Spokeswoman Maggie Abboud told Breitbart News, “It’s no surprise Democrats can’t find anyone to lead the DSCC this cycle. It’s the worst job in Washington.”
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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